Livestrong lives, even if Lance Armstrong loses Tour de France titles

I heard a debate once about the Dalai Lama’s legitimacy as a spiritual leader.

The question asked by the moderator at the conclusion was, “Does he serve?”

There is little question that his followers are comforted by their sense of his spirituality.

(Robert Seale Photography)

I’m pretty sure that, when it comes to spirituality, Lance Armstrong shouldn’t be compared to the Dalai Lama. On the other hand, I don’t see the Dalai Lama climbing the Alpe d’ Huez on a bike.

One thing they have in common is that both serve.

Long after anyone recalls anything about the seemingly interminable controversy over Armstrong, performance-enhancing drugs and his seven Tour de France championships, Livestrong, with its yellow bracelets, will have contributed millions of dollars to fighting cancer. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency can never take that away from Armstrong or the cancer patients who have been given hope because of his foundation.

There is not enough space even on the Internet to detail all of the he-said, she-said hearsay and conflicting testimony regarding Armstrong going back to his first title in1999.

USADA, the official drug testing agency of the U.S. Olympic movement, has pursued him like inspector Javert chasing Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables.” The French reference is appropriate because USADA’s most significant allies have been the anti-doping laboratory employed to test Tour de France riders and the French newspaper, L’Equipe.

There is no reason to believe that any of them lack integrity. I believe exactly the opposite. When USADA’s chief executive, Travis Tygart, says his obsession in life is to rid sports of banned substances, I believe him.

There also is this: Armstrong has been tested hundreds of time, maybe thousands, and never officially tested positive for one of those substances.

Just like with Roger Clemens, it’s up to each individual to delve into the massive amounts of information publicly available and draw his or her own conclusions.

I’ve probably gone over it as thoroughly as could be expected for at least the last six years and I’ll be damned if I know who is telling the truth. In general, I’m “curious” of almost everyone who has achieved greatness in some sports during the last 20 years or so. Recent developments in baseball have not helped cure me of my hard-earned skepticism.

In Armstrong’s case, I don’t really care any more after all these years.

USADA officials got their man. Good for them. So the sports world is a lot better place today?

As Armstrong said Wednesday when he told the Associated Press he was concluding his fight against USADA, “Enough is enough.”

The result is he that he probably will be stripped of his titles, even though you can reflect on the culture of international cycling going back decades and not be branded a skeptic, if cynic, if you believe many, if not most, who have competed in the grueling tours needed some sort of boost, whether banned or not.

The challenges they face are not human.

Neither are the challenges facing many confronting cancer patients.

If you believe in Armstrong, go out today and buy a Livestrong bracelet. If you don’t believe in Armstrong, go out today and buy a Livestrong bracelet.